Apparatus for vaporizing liquid hydrocarbons and supplying the vapor to burners



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0. M. HOLLINGSWORTH.

APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING LIQUID HYDROGARBON AND SUPPLYING THE VAPOR TOBURNERS.

No. 421,834. 7 Patented Feb. 18, .1890.

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APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING LIQUID-HYDROOARBON AND SUPPL YI NG THE VAPOR TOBURNBRS.

Patented Feb 7 drawings, in which Fig. 2 is a vertical-- section inisometrical of vaporizing chamber, a main conducting-tube,

' plying the Vapor to a Burner, of which the UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE,

CHARLES M. HOLLINGSIVORTH, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR VAPORlZlNG LIQUID HYDROCARBONS AND SUPPLYING THE VAPOR TBURNERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,834, dated February18, 1890.

Application filed November 12, 1888.

To 00% whom it may concern.- 7

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. HOLLINGS- WORTH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatusfor Vaporizing Liquid Hydrocarbon and Supfollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to the process of vaporizing liquid hydrocarbon andsupplying the vapor to a burner, wherein a suitable feed of the liquidis spread upon an evaporatingsurface freely exposed to the air within avaporizing-chamber, and thereby vaporized as it is fed, and the mingledvapor and air are conveyed automatically to the burner by grav ity; andmy object is to produce an apparatus of suitable construction for makingapplication and use of this process in vapor-stoves and other alliedappliances in which gasolinevapor may be used as fuel.

The apparatus comprises as essential parts an oil-reservoir, an oil-feeddevice, a vaporizing-chamber having an air-inlet and inclosing asuitable evaporating-surface, a conducting-tube, and a burner, to whichmay be added, if desired,'a valve to the burner. The form andconstruction of these parts and the manner inwhich I connect themtogether to constitute the working apparatus may be illustrated byreference to the accompanying Figure 1 is an isometrical representationof a vapor-stove embodying my invention; and

the oil-reservoir, with the oil-feed device in connection therewithshown entire, and of the and parts of two branch tubes, with anevaporator shown entire Within the vaporizingchamber and main tube.

As here represented, the oil-reservoir 3 is removably supported by Y adownward-projecting flange 4 upon the main walls 5 of thevaporizing-chamber, this flange and the bottom of the reservoir thusforming an upward extension and top or cover to said chamber. In thisflange are located the air-inlets 6. By thus afiixing to the reservoirthe upper portion of the wall of the vaporizing-chamber this part is putinto fixed relation with the Serial No. 290,586. (No model.)

oil-feed device, apart of which enters within it, and it also serves asa supporting-foot to the reservoir when the reservoir is removed forfilling; but, if desired, the oil-reservoir maybe placed at any distanceaway from the vaporizing-chamber and above its level, and the oilcarried to the chamber by a suitable ipe. 6o

Attached to the reservoir is shown one form of oil-feed device that maybe used, and which The vaporizing-chamber I prefer to makefunnel-shaped, as shown, tapering to the size at its lower end of theconducting-pipe 26, to which it is joined, and by which it is supported.As will hereinafter appear, this con ducting-pipe-may itself be made toserve as a supplementary part of the vaporizing-chamber.

Greater simplicity of operation may be se cured by providing a separatevaporizing chamber and conducting-tube for each burner 8 5 of a stovehaving more thanone burner, in which case the oil may be conducted tothe several vaporizing-chambers from the same reservoir by means ofsuitable pipes.

Within the vaporizing-chamber and removably supported from its walls inthe manner shown is a sectional evaporator 33, 34, and 35, mainly ofperforated metal plate, the sections made separable, if desired. Thereceiving and essential section 33 is in form a 5 broad hollow coneending bluntly at the top in Y a horizontally=flattened drip-spot 36,the dripspot'being preferably imperforated. The oil will spread moreevenly to all sides of the cone if azone around the drip-spot andforming the deflection from it to the sides of the cone is divided intoa number of narrow channels or distributing-arms, as shown in thedrawings. Raised points or ridges in place of the dividing-aperturesshown would serve the same purpose. 7

In the composite or sectional evaporator shown in the drawings thereceiving part 33 is represented as supported in place by contact withthe funnel-shaped part 34; but the part may be used independently of theother parts shown, in which case it is preferably supported in place bycontact of its base with the walls of the vaporizing-chamber, and thesewalls below the line of contact may then serve as supplementaryevaporatingsu rfaces, to which the oil may spread.

By suitably shaping the vaporizing-chamber itself, as by inclining andflattening it, the inner surface of its walls may be used as the soleevaporating-surface, but not so efficiently as a special evaporatorproperly placed within the vaporizing-chamber.

The middle section 3st of the evaporator shown in the drawings isfunnel-shaped, and receives and supports the upper section within itstop. It tapers more rapidly than the walls of the vaporizingchamber, sothat when it is placed in the vaporizingchamber it comes into supportingcontact with the walls of the latter around its upper edge only. Thedraining oh. of this section of any oil that may reach its lower end isfacilitated by so shaping the end as to give a termination in one ormore points.

In order that the middle section 34. of the evaporator maybe the morereadily placed and securely maintained in a concentric and verticalposition within the vaporizing-chamber, a bead 37 maybe turned orledge-formed around the walls of the latter where the two surfaces comein contact, and a flange turned on the edge of this section to rest onthis bead or ledge. For like reason a bead may be turned around themiddle section through the points of contact with it of the uppersection.

Any additional evaporating-surface that may be required may convenientlybe provided in the form of the third section 35. (Shown in thedrawings.) This is a plain strip of perforated metal plate suspendedfrom a V-shaped wire or loop 38, attached to the lower end of the part34., and it may be made to extend any desired distance down theconducting pipe 26. For the two-burner arrangement here shown the lowerend of this strip is beveled to give a drip-point at one side, so thatany excess of oil that may drop from it, due to overfeed, will fall onone side only of the partition 31 shown, and follow the correspondingbran eh of the conducting-pipe to the vicinity of the burner which itsupplies, and be vaporized by heat from the burner, the burner on thatside being always used when only one is needed.

The evaporator and conducting-pipe operate as follows: As the oil dropsonto the re ceiving top of the part 33 of the evaporator, it spreadsdownward over its surface, and is quickly vaporized and the vapor mixedwith the surrounding air. The mixture of Vapor and air, being heavierthan the external air, descends as it is formed through theconducting-pipe to the burners, the supply of air being constantlyrenewed through the air-inlet (i. Any oil that is not vaporized from thepart 33 will be further exposed to the same air-current on the part 3i,while some portion of it may descend to the par-i235, and any finalresiduum of oil from the evaporator will, as already explained, run downone of the branch conducting-pipes to be vaporized by heat from theburner. By arranging and supporting the parts of the evaporator in themanner shown and described the oil in its downward course is preventedfrom coming into contact with the wall of the vaporizingchamber or ofthe main conducting-pipe, and any cleaning that may be required will bemainly confined to the removable evaporator.

In order that either burner may be used alone in the two-burnerconstruction shown in connection with a single vaporizingchamber, eachburner is provided with a rotating cut-off 50, inserted into the end ofthe branch conducting-tube on which the burner is placed. A cut-off orvalve may also be desirable in some cases to close the outlet where eachburner is supplied from a separate Va porizingchamber.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat ent, is

1. The combination, in a vapor stove or otherheatin g appliance, of anelevated vapor izing-chamber having an air-inlet at its upper part andan air and vapor outlet at its lower part, a suitable evaporatingsurfaceinclosed therein, an oila'eservoir above said chamber, an oil-feeddevice in connection with the reservoir, and a burner in communicationwith the outlet of the vaporizing-ehamber, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of an elevated vaporizing-chamber having an air-inletat its upper part and an air and vapor-outlet at its lower part, asuitable evaporating-surface inclosed therein, an oil-rescrvoir abovesaid chamber, an oil-feed device in connection with the reservoir, aburner in communication with the outlet of the vaporizing-chamber, andavalve to said burner, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, an elevated, vaporizingchamber, an oil-reservoirsupported above said chamber, a coiiductingtube, a burner, and a conicalevaporator of perforated metal plate placed within said chamber,substantially as set forth.

t. In combination, an elevated vaporizingchamber, Etl1-0i1-l(-ZSG1'VOI1supported above said chamber, a conducting-tube, a burner, and a conicalevaporator of perforated metal plate placed within said chamber, saidconical evaporator having a horizontal flattened top, substantially asset forth.

5. In combination, an elevated vaporizingand a conical evaporator ofperforated metal plate placed Within said chamber, said conical 5evaporator having an im-perforated top horizontally flattened in thecenter and divided in a ring around the center' by apertures or raisedpoints, substantially as set forth.

6. In combination, an elevated vaporizingro chamber, an oil-reservoirsupported above I 5 conical in form and upright in position and a lowersection conical in form and inverted in position, substantially as setforth.

7. -In combination, an elevated vaporizin chamber, a conducting-pipeleading vertically downward therefrom, an oil-reservoir supported abovesaid chamber, a burner,

and a sectional evaporator of perforated metal plate placed within saidchamber and conducting-pipe, said evaporator consisting of an uppersection conical in form and upright in position, a middle sectionconical in form and inverted in position, and a lower section of plainrectilinear form suspended from the middle section, substantially as setforth.

CHARLES M. HOLLINGSWORTH.

Witnesses:

A. O. BEHEL, E. BEHEL.

